Come Sit

Buddhism teaches us that abiding contentment & joyful living are found in the depths of our own being & that life is inherently dissatisfying until we are able to see life clearly & discover our own inner-peace beyond causes & conditions. The path of Zen Buddhism is the effort toward such means. Come sit!

No matter who we are, we all carry the potential of enlightened-living which in-turn naturally helps World. The practice of Zen Buddhism is a path of awakening our supreme-potential – cultivating presence, wisdom, & compassion. Starting within ourselves, we bring to life this better World.

Whether you have never meditated before or a longtime practitioner, whether you consider yourself a Zen Buddhist, something else, or nothing at all, the harmonious path is for everyone & all are welcome to join us in our meditation practice.

We hold Weekly Practice every Sunday from 4-6 pm
Please Join Us for Zen Practice

Once a month, we offer am orientation style Beginners to Zen Practice Period.

Interested in learning meditation? Have you been curious about Buddhism & Zen & Practice? Wanted to learn more & try out meditation? Have your read books, now ready to start the practice? This day is designed with the first-time beginner in mind.

With this Period –

Introductions with a little about Underdog Zendo

Roots of Practice – tidbit of history on Zen Buddhism

How to Practice – In-depth instruction with some explanation of Zen Practice

Voice of Awakening – Sutra Chant with some basic explanation

Guided meditation style Zazen (seated Zen Meditation)

Learn Kinhin (walking Zen Meditation)

Fallowed by an open discussion & group Q & A

Take-home information sheets will be provided

Share tea*

Zen Meditation is designed to help us help ourselves. Without meditation the overwhelming tendency is to remain trapped in our own blind-spots & seeing past ourselves is very difficult. The practice of Zen points us back to ourselves & gives us the opportunity to see whatever it is we each need to see. Starting Zen Practice could be the single most important decision of your life. I can tell you it was for me! Hope you can join us. – Shaon

First-time beginner can attend this Period but are encouraged to attend the Beginners Practice Period on the 1st Sunday of the month for best instruction.

3rd Sundays Every Month

3rd Sundays Every Month we hold our regular Zen Practice with the addition of checking out a Dharma Talk together.

During this period we practice 30 minutes of zen meditation & then watch a video or listen to a Talk on the subject of Buddhism from our Senior Dharma Teachers Rev. Jay Rinsen Weik & Karen Do’on Weik of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo & Boundless Way Zen. Rinsen & Rev. Do’on are amazing & insightful Dharma Teachers. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage in dharma study together with personal reflection, & deepening ones understanding of Zen Buddhism.

Beginners are encouraged to attend the Beginners Practice Period on the 1st Sunday of the month for 1st time attendance.

Wednesday Evenings 7-9pm

Wednesday evenings, we meet at a Coffee Shop near the Zendo for our Dharma Study Group where we observe & discuss various Zen Buddhist texts.

This is a way we work to deepen our understanding of the various wisdom teachings. There’s also some great socializing & plain ol’ fun to be had!

UZ does not encourage study without Practice – This Study Group is intended for those who practice with us regularly or semi-regular basis.

Zen Retreats, Workshops, & Ceremonies with the BTT

All Vouched Members of UZ Sangha are have the opportunity to attend various retreats, Workshops, & Ceremonies with our guiding Temple; The Buddhist Temple of Toledo where they hold amazing & often life-changing weekend retreats on a regular basis.

This is a valuable way to deepen ones Zen Practice beyond our regular Weekly Periods. This is also our time to encounter & practice with Rev. Rinsen & Rev. Do’on who are amazing & insightful Dharma Teachers who are worth traveling the world over as well as practice with the larger Toledo Sangha.

Please arrive 20 to 5 minutes early. Participants must be buzzed in at the door. Once we have started practice, it is a destination for us to answer the door so please arrive on time. Service ends at 6 followed by optional Tea Time after 6 All welcome*

“…Therefore, put aside the intellectual practice of investigating words and chasing phrases, and learn to take the backward step that turns the light and shines it inward. Body and mind of themselves will drop away, and your original face will manifest. If you want to attain suchness, practice suchness immediately.

Put aside all involvements and suspend all affairs. Do not think “good” or “bad.” Do not judge true or false. Give up the operations of mind, intellect, and consciousness; stop measuring with thoughts, ideas, and views. Have no designs on becoming a Buddha. How could that be limited to sitting or lying down?… Think of not thinking. Not thinking—what kind of thinking is that? Beyond-thinking. This is the essential art of zazen. This zazen is not meditation practice. It is simply the Dharma gate of joyful ease, the practice-realization of totally culminated enlightenment. It is the koan realized; traps and snares can never reach it. If you grasp the point, you are like a dragon gaining the water, like a tiger taking to the mountains. For you must know that the true Dharma appears of itself, so that from the start dullness and distraction are struck aside.”

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Weekly Practice

Dharma Quote

Do not pursue the past. Do not lose yourself in the future. The past no longer is. The future has not yet come. Looking deeply at life as it is. In the very here and now, the practitioner dwells in stability and freedom. We must be diligent today. To wait until tomorrow is too late. Death comes unexpectedly. How can we bargain with it? The sage calls a person who knows how to dwell in mindfulness night and day, ‘one who knows the better way to live alone.’ Bhaddekaratta Sutta